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Five things we learned from Lions' flawed win over  Queensland Reds
Five things we learned from Lions' flawed win over  Queensland Reds

Irish Times

timea day ago

  • Sport
  • Irish Times

Five things we learned from Lions' flawed win over Queensland Reds

We'll have to learn to live with mistakes Fin Smith of the British and Irish Lions in action during the win over Queensland Reds on Wednesday. Photograph:It is probably something everyone will have to get used to, if they haven't already done so. The three Lions ' outings so far against Argentina, Western Force and the Reds have been full of mistakes, some handling errors, a lot of misplaced passes and some misreading of what team-mates are doing or where they are going to run. In all three games the opposition have taken advantage of that and rattled the Lions' cage. The payback for having international players start the game and then flood in from the bench early in the second half is offset by the steep learning curve the players are on to gel as a team. As England World Cup winner and former Lion Lawrence Dallaglio said before the tour started, the whole Lions enterprise is set up to fail. But the second 50-point win in a row says something is solid. Fewer replays makes for refreshing viewing British and Irish Lions' Jac Morgan scores a try against Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday. Photograph: Jason O'Brien/PA Wire By design or just the way things are rolling, there have not been many TMO referrals and replays in the opening two matches played in Australia. There was at least one referral against the Reds, and a try was awarded to the Lions after review. But the experience so far is that people are generally content with the referee diving into a pile of bodies and making the call without going through all of the angles and prolonging the game. The replays have become part of the rugby entertainment business but less of them and allowing the match to move on quickly on is quite refreshing in its own old-fashioned way. Smooth Jamison Gibson-Park operates well with Finn Russell Jamison Gibson-Park showed his vision and plenty of other qualities for the British and Irish Lions against Queensland Reds on Wednesday. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho It was encouraging to see the Irish nine, Jamison Gibson-Park , back playing competitive rugby. It is only when he is away from the game and returns that the smooth tempo he gives a team - compared with Alex Mitchell's staccato style of play - is so eye-catching. Ronan O'Gara rightly said on television that at his best Gibson-Park is up there with French nine Antoine Dupont. Although he clearly has another gear or two above what he showed against the Reds, his linking with outhalf Finn Russell, his control at the base of rucks, accurate kicking game, snipe threat and temperament were all on display. Already connections within the squad are beginning to form and although it was the halfbacks' first time out together the Irish scrumhalf and Scottish pivot have the look of a Test-match pairing despite having much more to add to their game than the outing against the Reds showed. Ben Earl holds court in Lions centre Ben Earl tries to go on the rampage for the British and Irish Lions against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane. Photograph:Irish centre Bundee Aki was replaced at the end of the match by England backrow Ben Earl. It was an interesting decision by Andy Farrell , giving the forward 15 minutes to try his hand in a star-studded backline. Earl is a dynamic player and has some pace. Not as much as Henry Pollack, another Lions backrow, but enough to possibly cause havoc in the midfield. Indeed, after providing cover in the centre against Wales during the Six Nations, Earls said 'it is not too dissimilar'. 'Half the stuff I do is as a 12 anyway,' he explained at the time. He also played the last six minutes of England's 47-24 victory over Italy during the Six Nations at centre and scored the final try. Steve Borthwick first used him in the backline during England's victory over Japan last summer. A hybrid player. Watch this space in Australia. READ MORE Freescoring Lions are going to be hard for Australia to keep at bay Maro Itoje scores a try for the British and Irish Lions against the Queensland Reds. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho How will former Ireland and current Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt counter the Lions change of gear when the teams meet later this month? In the two games on Australian soil the cogs have shifted and the tries have flowed. Only four minutes into the second half agaisnt the Reds, Maro Itoje triggered the surge, scoring a try after good work from Aki. Nine minutes later it was flanker and player of the match Jac Morgan who ran a great line to take a flat pass and dive over. Just four minutes after that England wing Tommy Freeman twisted and used his strength to force himself over the line, and Huw Jones ran most of the length of the field to touch down on 65 minutes. Replacement Garry Ringrose ended the try fest on 80+4 minutes, touching down in the corner. No doubt Schmidt is already on it.

Sex shame teacher writes a children's book so kids can learn about 'past mistakes'
Sex shame teacher writes a children's book so kids can learn about 'past mistakes'

Daily Mail​

time27-05-2025

  • Lifestyle
  • Daily Mail​

Sex shame teacher writes a children's book so kids can learn about 'past mistakes'

A disgraced teacher convicted of having sex with a teenage pupil has penned a children's book to help parents talk about their past mistakes. Eppie Sprung was struck off the teaching register after she was caught half naked with the 17-year-old boy by police patrol officers in 2012. The 39-year-old was spared jail but was placed on the sex offenders' register for six months and given a six-month community payback order after admitting sexual activity with a person under 18 while she was his teacher and in a position of trust. She is now the author of a new book, Here, with you, which she wrote to help parents talk to their children about the life-lasting bad choices they have made. It follows the story of two bears, with the adult bear having to inform the young bear of a mistake that continues to impact their lives today, and features the slogan: 'You and I know that making bad choices doesn't make you a bad person'. The publication of the book, which features a sweet cover of the two animals in a boat holding a glowing lantern while at sea, comes just months after Sprung went on a BBC Radio Scotland phone-in show to complain about the stigma and media attention her conviction brought. During the call on Mornings with Stephen Jardine she said it was 'the most difficult thing I experienced' and complained about how it affected certain aspect of her life including employment and 'not being invited to my daughter's friends' birthday parties'. Now in a blog post titled, 'Not a Monster, a Mum', Sprung explains her reasons behind her book after realising even before her daughter was conceived that she would need to 'handle' talking to her children 'very carefully'. She said: 'Navigating being both a mother and a person who has been convicted of a sexual offence is complex and challenging... the problem is, no matter what I do, I know that just by being their mum, I'm going to cause them pain. 'One day, they're going to learn to type things into internet search engines and they're going see my name emblazoned across tabloids - Eppie Sprung: Sex Offender. 'Their friends are going to talk about them behind their back. 'People are going to ostracise them. 'They'll probably question who I really am and whether the feelings of safety I instil in them are actually some sort of lie. Society will tell them I'm a monster. 'The long, long shadow of the poor choices I made back then will likely continue to impact on my children long into adulthood.' Sprung lost her marriage and job after she drove to a layby with the boy in December 2012 following a school Christmas dance and had sex with the pupil. The pair were discovered by patrolling police officers who became suspicious when they spotted condensation on the car windows and found them in the front seat. Sprung, then aged 26, taught English at St Joseph's College in Dumfries and had agreed to give the dyslexic teenager extra lessons. When she was sentenced in June the following year at Dumfries Sheriff Court, Sheriff George Jamieson told her: 'You were there simply to teach but you have been called into temptation and you have committed adultery. 'Your marriage is gone and your career as a teacher is gone. 'What you have been charged with is a breach of trust and I cannot see that there is anything to be gained by a custodial sentence. 'Had it not been for the fact that you were this young man's teacher, there would have been no criminality.' It later emerged that she ended up living with the boy in her marital home less than two months after being put on the register. At the time he said they were not in a relationship and he later moved out. In the years that followed Sprung also set up Next Chapter Scotland, which works to 'help anyone who has been involved with the criminal justice system to navigate the stigma and discrimination that they can face throughout their lives'. The charity, which has received National Lottery funding, states its 'vision' is of a society that 'no longer judges people based on their worst choices but, instead, sees them as they are today'.

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